Polestar is an ambitious brand. It has to be. Itโs competing directly with Tesla - which, love it or loathe it, is the big disrupter and constantly re-evaluating how car companies should operate. But Polestar is also up against the traditional manufacturers, too, which are all trying to break the near-monopoly that Tesla has carved out for itself in the EV market.
So itโs here at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with two new models (plus the limited edition of the 476hp Polestar 2 BST edition 270) that show its future direction as a sporting electric brand. The Polestar O2 concept is on show for the first time outside of Sweden. In the raw itโs a pretty stunning-looking convertible EV with some natty bits, like an autonomous drone that launches from a slot in its rear deck. (Yep, you read that right.) The idea is youโll be able to video yourself driving it with the hood down and load the footage to social media using the infotainment system. Yeah, well itโs a concept, and theyโre all about floating ideas, good and bad. But according to Thomas Ingenlath, Polestarโs CEO, the company doesnโt do pointless concepts that have no basis in future production, so expect a convertible to come thatโll look something like the O2. Just donโt bank on it having a drone.
The more imminent proposition is the Polestar 5, which is on show for the first time ever. Its maker has released some numbers for the 5 at last, and theyโre big ones: up to 884hp and a targeted 664lb ft of torque from its dual-motor set-up. It's also have 800-volt charging architecture. See, Tesla is locked firmly in its sights. The styling also proves the theory that Polestarโs concepts become reality, because the prototype thatโs heading up the hill looks very much like the 2020 Precept concept, from what we can make out under the camouflage. The shark nose front end and twin-blade headlights are Polestarโs new signature elements that differentiate the brand from Volvos โ something that is the overriding theme of my discussions with everyone I talk to from the company. They very much want to move away from the parts bin scenario.
The obvious differences between the 5 and the Precept are its conventional, rather than suicide rear doors, the less extreme creases around the sills and bottom of the doors, regular door mirrors (although presumably cameras will be available as an option at least) - and thatโs about it. Maximilian Missoni, Polestarโs Head of Design, says that โThis car [the 5] is setting up the future of Polestar and as a design language from here onward. The aim is always to do something that is far enough out there to be inspiring, but at the same time realistic enough that you donโt disappoint when the real thing hits the road.โ Weโd say heโs achieved that goal.
One of the design challenges was keeping the car low, like a sports car. Itโs easier to do this with an ICE car, because you donโt need to accommodate a large block of batteries along the floor. In an EV obviously you do. Also, the role of aerodynamics โ cutting drag to improve range โ becomes so much more important, so a lot of time has been spent perfecting the carโs sleek form in the wind tunnel.
The chassis is interesting, too. Both the O2 concept and 5 share the same underpinnings, which is Polestarโs first bespoke EV architecture. I asked what itโs called, but apparently it doesnโt have a name yet. Itโs definitely nothing to do with Volvoโs SPA 2 platform, though. Itโs unique to Polestar and the product of its engineering team based in the UK โ at MIRA and Coventry. Why the UK? Well, Jonathan Goodman, global comms director, said thatโs โbecause of the engineering culture, can do attitude and the pool of talent all the way up the M40 corridor, which you wouldnโt get anywhere else in the world.โ The propulsion side is developed in Sweden, while the software, the 12-volt systems and the user interface are a product of teams on both sides of the North Sea.
One of those UK talents is Steve Swift, vehicle engineering director. I asked him why this isnโt a jointly developed platform with Volvo โ wouldnโt that make sense? โThe platform doesnโt work for a volume brand like Volvo. They arenโt going to produce an 800hp sports car, are they?โ Well, I suppose not. There may be sharing on other elements, though, like autonomous tech, motors, battery design and software. This doesnโt mean necessarily a motor from a Volvo will find its way into a Polestar or vice versa, but the intellectual property behind it will.
The platform is a mix of aluminium sections. There are cast elements, for example in the suspension turrets. Thereโs also cold formed aluminium for less stressed components, such as the floor panels, and hot formed, quenched aluminium for the main structure. That process locks in the alloyโs grain structure and retains strength, but lets the engineers create intricate pressings. The structure is bonded rather than spot welded, which is lighter because youโre not adding metal to compensate for the weakness of welds, and also stronger in most scenarios because more surface area is attached along the joints.
That last point makes it very torsionally stiff. Swift says itโs not far off the twisting strength of a carbon tub, and while he wouldnโt give me a figure to back that up, he said โitโs very competitive for a long car.โ And the 5 is a long car, even though that might not come across in the pictures. Something around five metres long, which gives you a clue as to which area of the market itโs aimed at. Think of it as a four-door coupe in the mould of the Porsche Panamera โ a car with generous rear-seat accommodation โ with greater head and legroom than a Taycan. The 5's rear head and legroom come from pushing the rear structure back behind the rear passengers' heads, with the glass roof above them not only creating headroom but also flooding the interior with light. This design has other advantages: more generous boot space and allowing for a higher, more natural rear seating position. As well as the roominess of a Panamera, the 5 is targeting a similarly dynamic drive; moreover, the Porsche is the price point that the Polestar 5 is potentially aiming for.
Polestar is very realistic about where it stands at the moment. Swift noted, quite honestly, โIn terms of motor, battery and software tech, weโve got a long way to catch up with Tesla. But I donโt think we have much to learn from Tesla in how to build a car.โ Well, it has two years to catch up on the former and to cement its confidence in the latter. It's also targeting an operating profit for the first time in 2024, as well as sales of 290,000 by 2025. Bold. But there's no faulting its ambition so far.
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